k12 advice

[Guest gkjones]

I am very new to homeschooling. We just made the decision to do this last week after hearing the final horror story. I was told that k12 is the curriculum to go with for my ds who is starting kindergarten. Does anyone have experience with this? Is it a classical curriculum? Are there better ways to start?:001_unsure:

[Tony'sMom]

We used K12 for 6th 7th and 8th grades. We really liked it. Not sure about Kindergarten. You should check for K12 presentations in your area. Or check if they are having any online meetings. They are usually very informative and you can get all your questions answered.

[Truscifi]

They also have a very helpful website. http://www.k12.com/

[Jackie in NE]

I am very new to homeschooling. We just made the decision to do this last week after hearing the final horror story. I was told that k12 is the curriculum to go with for my ds who is starting kindergarten. Does anyone have experience with this? Is it a classical curriculum? Are there better ways to start?:001_unsure:

 

So you're going to get a lot of different answers to your question. I have never even looked at k12, so I cannot offer you any advice about that specific program. But I can offer you this: As you set out on this journey of homeschooling, it will be helpful to think about the educational and character developmental goals that you have for your dc.

 

There are SO MANY different curricula out there. I think it is helpful to think about what you want for your children, and then go out and look for it. You will also need to be realistic about what works for you. Do you have the time, energy, and desire to devote yourself to a teacher-intensive curriculum? Or do you need to do something that requires less of you and places more emphasis on video or online instruction? Finances may also play a part.

 

Perhaps you have already considered many of these things. If you have, that's great!

 

But setting some goals, and thinking about what you want to achieve for your dc will certainly help you to choose your curriculum.

 

And whatever you decide.... I wish you all the best. Homeschooling is a wonderful choice. It is worth the work.

 

Welcome!

 

Jackie

[Shelly in the Country]

I am very new to homeschooling. We just made the decision to do this last week after hearing the final horror story. I was told that k12 is the curriculum to go with for my ds who is starting kindergarten. Does anyone have experience with this? Is it a classical curriculum? Are there better ways to start?:001_unsure:

 

I'm not familiar with K12, but Kindergarten doesn't require a whole lot. You would need some form of phonics program to teach reading and maybe a beginning math program. You can either buy or borrow (library) some fun kids books to read aloud to him. There is a lot of great information on these boards. If you search for "Kindergarten" you will probably get tons of ideas. And of course, read The Well Trained Mind if you haven't already. :001_smile:

[Samiam]

It would be interesting to see who told you to use K12? Another parent who uses K12? Someone who works for the school district? Not to bash K12 at all, we use it ourself for History, but just wondered who was so firm on their opinion of curriculum to a first time homeschooler? Just curious, if you want to share?

[schsmom]

It will be helpful for you to do a search on this forum about k12. Try not to let it overwhelm you. I used it for my first year of homeschooling and it didn't work for me. We quit only 4 months into the program and started our own curriculum in which the kids love. To me it is public school at home. You still have teachers to answer to and somewhat strict guidelines to follow. You have daily webclasses to attend and goals that need to be met. Lots of computer work as far as reading off the computer, logging on to there attendance thingy etc. For some it works but it was just to strict for us. I wanted the freedom to take my curriculum with me on vacation and this required you to stay home frequently.

[Guest]

Are you looking at using it as an independent or with a charter virtual school?

 

I like and will be using McRuffy. http://www.mcruffy.com

 

Really, for Kinder all you need is phonics, handwriting, and math. I will be using the science but we are sciencey people.

[Sue G in PA]

K12 has a good K program. We used it with our charter school here in PA. That was my first year of hsing, too. The charter provided us the gradual entrance into hsing that we needed but very quickly became too public schoolish for me. We ditched the charter after 2 years. Won't go back. As to the K program if you are doing it independently...it will feel very "schoolish" but if you need that type of structure it could be good. There are many K programs out there (secular and Christian). Honestly though...K should be a time for FUN! Read a lot together, get a good phonics program, do some fun math activities or use a book like Singapore Earlybird K or Saxon K or MUS Primer...whatever. Tons to choose from. Mostly, just have fun. They grow up so fast and will have tougher, more structured work soon enough. Just my 2 cents...and what I wish I would have done w/ my older kids. I all but ruined their love for learning b/c I made hs too rigid. I won't make that mistake w/ my youngers.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I liked k12 when we did our virtual academy (15mo out of 12 years of homeschooling). But it wouldn't be my first choice for most people.

 

For K, I always suggest:

 

http://www.fiveinarow.com

phonics (reading reflex, alphaphonics, ordinary parent's guide, or phonics pathways)

handwriting without tears

math (horizon, MEP, singapore, miquon)

[JenniferB]

I am very new to homeschooling. We just made the decision to do this last week after hearing the final horror story. I was told that k12 is the curriculum to go with for my ds who is starting kindergarten. Does anyone have experience with this? Is it a classical curriculum? Are there better ways to start?:001_unsure:

 

What was your final horror story, if you don't mind sharing?

 

I use K12 with success and great enjoyment, though it is ALOT of work, especially with multiple children. I believe it is classical in the sense that Susan Wise Bauer explains in her book, "What is a classical education? It is language-intensive-not image-focused. It demands that students use and understand words, not video images. It is history-intensive, providing students with a comprehensive view of human endeavor from the beginning until now. It trains the mind to analyze and draw conclusions. It demands self-discipline. It produces literate, curious, intelligent students who have a wide range of interests and the ability to follow up on them." (pg. XXII, "The Well Trained Mind" 3rd Ed.)

 

Though K12 is not recommended in TWTM, nor does it follow all of SWB's plan (especially Science), I believe it is in line with the big picture SWB presents in her book. It is VERY language-intensive, taking up most of the school day in various language studies. It is not image "focused", though there are images used. The history is intense and chronological in the 1st 4 grades. Whether it trains the mind to analyze, and draw conclusions is of course up to the home-schooler in how they choose to talk with their student and lead them through the lessons. Almost any curriculum can be dumbed down and skimmed through, or used to it's fullest depending on how it's applied day-to-day. The K12 curriculum would most definitely encourage self discipline, because it is very rigorous, and the work load is heavy. I believe that used properly and thoroughly, the K12 curriculum would produce "literate, curious, intelligent students who have a wide range of interests and the ability to follow up on them."

 

It would be interesting to see who told you to use K12? Another parent who uses K12? Someone who works for the school district? Not to bash K12 at all, we use it ourself for History, but just wondered who was so firm on their opinion of curriculum to a first time homeschooler? Just curious, if you want to share?

 

Me too. Interested to hear who told you to use K12.

 

I would never use K12 for K! It's just bringing a school into your home and so much is unnecessary at this age. There are so many great things created just for homeschooling, I would never want to use so many things that were really made for classrooms. It's just too different.

 

The best thing to do would be to read TWTM and just start with the suggestions there. Once you get started and are feeling comfortable then you will find things you want to change or switch maybe. For your first you you can't go wrong with WTM. Kindy should take you 30-45 min a day and other than that you can just enjoy you little one, read, play and include him/her in on your life.

 

I have to respectfully disagree with the statements here about K12 being developed for classrooms. I believe it was created as a homeschool curriculum. The Teacher's Guides are geared toward one-on-one instruction, and the reason there are so many activities for each lesson is because they have tried to make something for every type of learner. It is intended to pick and choose the activities that would best suit your learner, and skip the ones that your child would not enjoy or learn from.

 

I do agree that reading TWTM would be greatly beneficial, and if you follow the plan in TWTM you can't go wrong.

 

Using K12 to it's fullest in Kindergarten is not all "sit down at a desk with pencil and paper" learning. Much of it is the fun type of learning, like reading aloud to your child, doing a science experiment, doing an art project, making a notebook page, etc. etc. The time allotments (3.5-4 hrs per day) are also the maximum amount of time that a lesson will take. Many lessons are done in 1/2 the time, because you will pick and choose which activities you want to do with your child, and you won't choose all of them, unless your child really wants to do that many things.

 

I hope this answers all your questions. Whatever you do, please feel free to do what you think is best, and not what someone else has told you to use. If you want academically rigorous, K12 is a great choice, as are TWTM recommendations. If you want more relaxed home schooling, K12 is not a good choice, unless you use it as an independent user, and you tweak it down and maybe school through the summer to make up some time from being more relaxed.

 

If you want to try out the on-line school, you can call customer service, and ask for a demo account. They will give you a log-in and password, and you can see a sampling of the lessons for each grade that way.

 

One more thing I really like about K12, as if I haven't mentioned enough already, is that there is a huge amount of support available through either a virtual academy, the customer service, or on-line tutorials about how to best use the curriculum. The K12 support is really high quality and thorough.

[MistyJ]

It will be helpful for you to do a search on this forum about k12. Try not to let it overwhelm you. I used it for my first year of homeschooling and it didn't work for me. We quit only 4 months into the program and started our own curriculum in which the kids love. To me it is public school at home. You still have teachers to answer to and somewhat strict guidelines to follow. You have daily webclasses to attend and goals that need to be met. Lots of computer work as far as reading off the computer, logging on to there attendance thingy etc. For some it works but it was just to strict for us. I wanted the freedom to take my curriculum with me on vacation and this required you to stay home frequently.

 

:iagree: I used K12 with my daughter our first year.

[Ellie]

You know, there is such a wealth of materials and methods available to hsers today that I'd be hard pressed to say that any one of them is the one to go with.

 

You have a little 5yo person; I wouldn't recommend either spending the big bucks to buy K12 yourself or enrolling in a government-funded virtual school this year. Kindergarten is not mandatory in most states, especially not for hsers, such that it is not necessary in the least to do anything that requires that much commitment.

 

If you do something good for English skills (basic/beginning phonics, penmanship, etc.) and something for arithmetic skills, plus the kinds of things that mothers usually do with their children, you'll be doing everything that "should" be done with such a young child.

[EKS]

K12 offers an excellent program. I particularly like their history (for K it's geography and American history) and science offerings for K. All of their courses are rigorous, though there can be a lot of worksheet type activities.

 

There are also many other wonderful ways to do K.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

K12 does a good kindergarten program. However, I would not buy it. I would only consider it if it was available through a free public charter cyber school. My ds does attend a public cyber school that uses k12. I found it useful as a first time homeschooler and I liked the idea of saying that your teacher assigned this since he experienced a school setting prior;). We will continue as long as it allows us the flexibility and relative freedom that it does now.

 

A word of caution, K12 lessons are set up that each lesson has a multitude of activities to meet the objectives. However, if you child meets the objectives with one or two of the activities, then it is not necessary to do all of the activities. I think that perhaps many parents get hung up on this and think that they have to do all of the activities.

 

I would also check out the other k12 threads here on this site. There was one recently that has many informative responses. If you do a public cyber school, I would be certain to ask many questions to be sure it is a right fit.

[Old Dominion Heather]

K12 is not classical. Have you checked your library or bookstore for The Well-Trained Mind? Kindergarten doesn't have to be so stressful. I'd start there. Just spend the year working on learning to read.

[JenniferB]

K12 is not classical. Have you checked your library or bookstore for The Well-Trained Mind? Kindergarten doesn't have to be so stressful. I'd start there. Just spend the year working on learning to read.

 

Heather,

 

Around the time I started using K12 I posted a question on this board asking if K12 could be considered TWTM in a box, with my thoughts on the various ways K12 lines up with TWTM, and some ways I could see that it did not. Here's the link to the thread where I asked this question:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86328&highlight=K12+classical

 

The responses I got were varied. Some said that K12 is not classical in philosophy, but did not explain in any detail what that means. I would really like some additional thoughts on this. I really respect SWB and TWTM. It was one of the first homeschool help books I read, and the one that made the most sense to me. I tried various methods throughout the last 5 years of homeschooling, and I could not get a strong foothold in any one of them, including using SWB pics from TWTM. I have not had much homeschool success until now using the K12 curriculum. I consider success to be doing the things we need to do consistently enough to make good progress toward the end goal of, as SWB wrote so beautifully, "literate, curious, intelligent students who have a wide range of interests and the ability to follow up on them".

 

Could you tell me your honest thoughts about why K12 is not classical? I really want to know what you mean when you say K12 is not classical. The original poster might appreciate more details on your thoughts as well. :bigear:

 

Thanks!! :D

[TracyR]

We used K12 K last year and it was a wonderful program. It all depends on what you want. A lot of the K12 K is reading good books. My daughter has fond memories of reading Ping and Tikki Tikki Tembo, and Madeline and some of the other stories. Of course there is workbooks but for us K12 worked really well for my third daughter. I wished I would of used it for my other daughters.

I guess it just all depends on what you want. K12 really brought out the creative side in me and we really enjoyed it. We expanded by making Lapbooks from the stories we read. I didn't always go by the structure of the program. Sometimes I just used something different that taught the same information.

K12 really works well for children that pick up information quickly. I don't think I would use it for a child that struggles with learning though.

 

I have done K putting my own things together and honestly I feel my third daughter has learned way more then I ever did putting things together for K myself. But that is just me.

 

I guess K12 isn't classical in the sense that it doesn't follow the trivium, grammar,dialetic and rhetoric. It doesn't have children studying ancient languages such as Latin and Greek.

 

If Classical is the way you want to go then K12 may not be what you are looking for. If you do know someone that has K12 I would suggest taking a look at it.

What I do know is K12 uses living books for reading , not dry textbooks. The program reminds of me of Sonlight in a way but with a few more workbooks. K12 is really an all in one program. I have found little that I really have to supplement with for learning. I do know at times I like to liven things up and do a lapbook or two. I have heard (not sure if its true) that SWB wrote the History for K12 as well. What I do know is my daughter has gotten a solid foundation in her education thus far using K12.

 

K12 was not made for classrooms. I know curriculums such as Abeka, and BJU were because of the way their teacher manuals are set up for teaching multiple students. But K12's manuals are not at all like this. I agree with everything Jennifer B has told you.

 

As for who suggested K12 to the original poster isn't important. I know I have recommended curriculum many times to other homeschooling families. Who ever was using it may have been enjoying K12 just as much so it was recommened to the poster.

 

In the end it just all depends on your philosophy in education. If you feel that just using math and phonics for K is enough then K12 wouldn't fit. If you want to cover all of the subjects then K12 definitely will.

If your using K12 on your own I suggest the Math, Phonics, LA and History. I did like the science but you could just get books on different topics since that pretty much was what the K science was.

If your using it with a cyberschool then you need to use all of the subjects. I'll admit the Music was NOT our favorite. It was too babyish and they really need to change the lady that sings the songs because she only sings in one tone, but we have all survived. LOL. Art was okay but really you could use a different program. For our cyber we had to send in three assignments per month which wasn't a big deal and my daughter liked sending them off in the mail. LOL.

Edited August 7, 2009 by TracyR

[EKS]

K12 may not be classical in a strict sense but it is rigorous and I think that might be what many people who are attracted to TWTM are really responding to, a rigorous content rich educational experience, rather than the particulars of a classical education. I think K12 delivers this, and more actually, as I think their science courses are superior to what is described in WTM.

 

So, I would say that K12 is not classical in the strict sense of the word, however I think lots of folks use the term "classical" when they mean "rigorous and content rich (particularly in history and literature)" and K12 meets this description.

 

IMHO, as usual.